CPHR
by Silenta-Atestanto
Summary: Mistral. A veritable Hell-on-Remnant. A city ruled by the very worst the criminal underbelly has to offer. But in this dark city where criminals reign supreme, a group of Huntsmen- and Huntresses-in-training will band together to take back their city, and hunt the most dangerous prey of all: Man.
1. A Screech in the Night

_I don't know what Hell looks like, but if I had to guess…_

A gunshot echoed through the deserted streets.

 _It would probably look a lot like Mistral._

The security guard fell against the pavement, a fresh bullet hole in his forehead. The thug who shot him watched as blood pooled around the body, before he looked to his companion and said, "I told him I'd do it."

The other thug replied simply, "I'll get the lock. Watch my back," before he hopped onto the back of a nearby armored car, and stuck two thin metal strips into the lock on its back doors.

 _Mistral. One of the four kingdoms of Remnant. A kingdom of thieves, liars, and murderers._

 _…_ _It speaks volumes about the kind of place Mistral was when the biggest danger to public safety_ wasn't _the Grimm._

As the second thug picked the lock, the first walked to their getaway car, and sat down on its hood. "You know," he began, "you new guys don't know this, but it used to be that all you had to do was say the boss's name around here and you could get almost anything. Nice, easy, and most important- clean. But all that changed when _it_ showed up." The thug crossed his arms and glowered. "Then people started getting… _ideas_. Started thinkin' they could talk back to us. Boss said that if they give us lip, we gotta make an example of 'em. I mean, I don't _wanna_ , but I'm not gonna argue with the boss…"

"You keeping watch, or are you too busy running your mouth?" the second thug asked. "I'm trying to concentrate here."

 _Criminals infested every corner of the capital, sucking it dry like a swarm of parasites. With half the force paid to look the other way, the police were completely powerless to stop them. The ruling council was just as useless, providing only promise upon empty promise, rather than any real solution. The other Kingdoms kept only the barest minimum of contact with Mistral, with only Atlas providing any real aid… if a few dozen android soldiers and their handlers could be called "aid."_

The first thug glanced up and down the street nervously, before glancing back. "The hell's taking you so long?"

"Lock's trickier than I was expecting. It's nothing I can't handle, though."

"Well hurry the hell up. I don't wanna be here when the Bat decides to drop in."

The second thug stopped, and gave his partner a look. "…Are you kidding me? You're scared of _the Bat?_ " He turned his attention back to the lock. "It's just a myth people made up to scare us. It won't work on me."

"A _myth?_ " The first thug looked to his companion in disbelief. "Try telling _that_ to Sparky. Bat broke his arm in three places. And he ain't the only one. Even the boss is worried about him…"

 _Even Mistral's Huntsman and Huntresses- sworn to protect the kingdom and its citizens- were nowhere to be found. It seemed they were content to sit back, and watch their homeland collapse under the weight of its own corruption._

There was a heavy _thunk_ as the bolt holding the door shut slid open. "Finally. Hey, I got the lock. Help me pull this open."

Silence.

"…what the hell are you waiting for? Get over here and…"

The thug's voice trailed off as he looked back. His companion was gone, his gun resting on the pavement by the front of the car. The street was empty- the only sound was the hum the street lamps overhead, and his own breaths.

 _But even if those in power were unwilling to do anything, there was something in Mistral that_ was.

The thug drew his gun and turned away from the armored car. "…Brick?" he called. "If this is some kind of joke, it isn't funny."

More silence.

He approached the car, and picked up the other gun. At that moment, he heard a scuttling sound to his right. He spun, aiming both guns at the sound's source… but there was nothing there. "…hello?"

 _Something that couldn't be threatened into silence. Something whose loyalty couldn't be bought. Something driven by an all-consuming, single-minded purpose…_

The streetlight above exploded, raining hot glass on the thug and plunging the section of street into darkness. The thug stumbled back with a startled cry, before he glanced around wildly, aiming his guns blindly into the darkness. It took several breaths before he was able to shout into the shadows, " _Where the hell are you?_ "

Again, silence.

" _Show yourself!_ "

A growl rang out from the darkness, before a monster made from his worst nightmares leapt at him with an ear-shattering shriek.

… _And I was one of the few lucky enough to meet him._

* * *

 **Nine hours later…**

A warm black rain fell from black clouds onto a black city. Darkness clung to the city like a cloak, plunging it into a perpetual night that could only be banished by the combined might of thousands upon thousands of lamps. But of those light, one group shone more brightly than the others, a shining beacon that commanded one's attention should their eye happen to fall upon it- a grand structure, built to resemble a cathedral, set upon a plateau near the heart of this dark city.

A light, shining in the darkness. A light leading humanity towards a brighter, safer future. Or so people liked to say.

But such platitudes were far away from the students in one particular classroom nestled within the halls of this cathedral. For those who remained at least, their focus was turned towards one objective:

Survival.

Specifically, surviving the last few minutes of class as their professor- a smallish, bespectacled man with bright, shoulder-length red hair- droned on seemingly without end:

"…as gruesome as this procedure may seem now, it was deemed absolutely necessary to ensure the survival of Huntsmen and Huntresses in the past." The professor turned away from the complex diagram on the chalkboard, and stepped forward. "Now, as I mentioned, the implanting of a socket directly into the spine was the most crucial step of the procedure. Would any of you be willing to explain why?"

The professor scanned the room, looking for any raised hands. He didn't find any- what he _did_ find was a young man in a garish orange beanie resting his head on his arms, seemingly asleep. "Anyone at all?" he asked as he reached back, grabbing an eraser resting on the desk behind him. "How about… _you!_ " With the last word, he threw the eraser at the sleeping boy.

But to the professor's surprise, the boy raised up a hand, and caught the projectile. He then raised his head and looked at the professor with a tired expression. "Yes, Professor Carmine?"

The redheaded professor quickly suppressed his surprise, crossing his arms over his chest as he looked up at the boy. "I see that you've decided to join us, Mr. Rydinger. Now, perhaps you would like to answer my question."

The boy squinted at the chalkboard behind the redheaded professor, before he replied, "Yes, Professor," and stood. "The spinal socket was necessary in order to measure a person's aura. Until recently, technology wasn't able to detect a person's aura while it was outside their body. So, the socket had to be implanted directly into the spine, where aura concentration inside the body is highest." The boy took a breath. "From there, a specialized gauge could be plugged into the socket with a wire, creating a visual representation of the strength of a person's aura. Newer aura gauges don't need any invasive procedures, but they do need direct contact with skin to work properly."

Carmine could only stare in a stunned silence, before he cleared his throat, adjusting his glasses. "…It seems I owe you an apology, Mr. Rydinger- perhaps it _is_ possible for a student to learn in their sleep. You may be seated."

Almost the second the boy's rear touched his seat, the class bell rang.

Instantly, the classroom was filled with the clamor of students gathering their belongings. But Carmine interrupted them: "One moment, please. As many of you are no doubt aware, the new shipment of aura meters will be arriving in a few weeks. However, that does _not_ give you free reign to neglect your current equipment." He leaned toward the class, pointing an accusing finger at them all. "Random inspections _will_ still be held, so _take care_ of your gear." The professor straightened up. "Dismissed."

In a matter of moments, the students surged into the hallway outside the class. The boy with the orange beanie was among them- but where the rest of the students turned right upon entering the hall, he alone turned left. He glanced toward the crowd for a moment, before taking a few steps away from them…

But he froze up when he felt a hand wrap around his wrist. "Gotcha," he heard a girl's voice say.

He glanced back again- sure enough, a blue-eyed girl had grabbed his wrist. Like him, she wore the slate gray uniform that was standard to all students, though with a grey-and-black plaid skirt rather than slacks. Her hair was short and black, save for a single blonde-tipped bang that reached to just under her left eye. The boy retreated from her, ever so slightly, but not because she was a stranger to him. Far from it, in fact- they'd seen one another every single day since initiation.

"So…" the girl began, "…where were you going?"

The boy stammered, his face reddening. "Uh… I was… gonna get lunch."

The girl narrowed her eyes at him, never letting go of his wrist. "If you're gonna lie, then you should try to be more convincing, Traviss. You and I both know the cafeteria is the _other_ way. Now come on."

Before he could protest, the girl pulled Traviss in the direction opposite from where he was headed. He stumbled, almost falling flat on his face, but he managed to keep his balance. It took several moments before he worked up the nerve to ask her, "C-Callie… do I… really have to do this?"

"We're already halfway through the semester, Traviss. If we're gonna be working as a team, we need to get to know each other better." She glanced back. "You can't keep avoiding us forever."

He couldn't work up the nerve to look at her. "We've been doing just fine so far, haven't we?"

"That's just because we haven't been tested," Callie replied curtly. "When the chips are down, I need to know that I can trust you."

For a moment, Traviss opened his mouth to respond, before closing it. Callie had a point. So, he allowed himself to be dragged through the halls of the academy, trying to ignore the curious stares and whispers of the other students.

 **Haven,**

 **Kingdom of Mistral**

 **Thirty years before enrollment of Ruby Rose into Beacon**

 _Each of Remnant's four kingdoms is home to a grand Academy, dedicated to the training of future generations of Huntsmen and Huntresses. And Haven was Mistral's academy. Our home. Our sanctuary._

 _…_ _The name_ wasn't _a coincidence. With Atlesian soldiers patrolling the grounds at all hours of the day and night, Haven was one of the few places in the entire capital (and maybe even the whole kingdom) that could truly be called "safe."_

Traviss could smell the cafeteria long before entering it. But along with the numerous inviting aromas, he could hear a tremendous clamor. And sure enough, as Callie pulled him through a set of massive double doors, he saw that the cafeteria was already packed with people. Traviss retreated behind Callie ever so slightly- he was never very fond of crowds.

Callie took no notice. "Now where are they…?" she asked as her eyes swept over the hall, asking herself just _how_ a girl with white hair could blend into a crowd as well as her teammate did.

Unbeknownst to Callie, Traviss scanned the hall as well, locating her targets with ease. He tapped her shoulder to get her attention, before pointing. "…over there."

Off to the left, Callie saw a two girls, seated side-by-side at a table: one with long, pure white hair, and a brunette wearing a pair of large, opaque goggles over her forehead.

The white-haired girl was named Yuki, and the brunette, Olivia. They formed the other half of Callie and Traviss's team.

Callie raised an eyebrow in surprise. "You've got a good eye, Traviss." She began to walk to the two girls, her hand still gripping Traviss's wrist firmly. "And _this_ is exactly what I was talking about- if we don't know each other's strengths and weaknesses, how are we supposed to cover each other in battle?"

"Isn't that what combat class is for?" Traviss asked in reply.

"It's hard to observe someone when someone _else_ is trying to smash your skull in."

Traviss opened his mouth for a moment, but thought better of his response and closed it again.

Yuki was the first to acknowledge the pair as they sat down across from her and Olivia, looking up from a small notebook she was writing in. "Oh my… who's that handsome young man?" she teased. "Callie, you never told us you were seeing someone." Traviss's face instantly flushed a bright red, and he tried to deny the compliment. What emerged from his mouth, however, was little more than a string of stammered non-words.

Callie narrowed her eyes, otherwise maintaining her composure. "Very funny, Yuki. But you know exactly who this is."

"So you actually reeled him in…" Olivia said. "I have to admit- I didn't think you'd manage it. Even if you _are_ our leader." She slid a tray laden with food over to Callie, before turning her attention back to her own food.

There was no fourth tray- obviously, the other half of the team hadn't been expecting their last member to join them. Traviss slowly began to stand. "Uh… if you… don't mind, I'm gonna… grab some food. Okay?"

But Callie's hand shot out and grabbed his wrist, before she pulled him back into his seat. "Oh no you don't. You sit back down and stay right where I can see you."

"How am I supposed to get any lunch, then…?" he asked sullenly. He looked sadly at the table, when his attention was drawn to something sitting on Olivia's tray- a ripe orange, whole and unspoiled. He stared at it for a moment, before looking to Olivia expectantly.

Several moments passed before she realized he was staring at her. "Uh… is something wrong, Traviss?"

He slowly raised his hand and pointed at the orange. "…can I have that?"

"Huh?" She looked down at her tray. "Oh! Uh, sure."

Without taking her eyes off her notebook, Yuki picked up her own orange and handed it to Traviss. "You can have mine, too, Traviss- I'm not really a fan of citrus." She looked up- Traviss had wasted no time in snatching up Olivia's orange and was already in the midst of ravenously devouring it. He stared at her, wide-eyed, before gave a sheepish smile and a nervous laugh.

Yuki sighed. "…just mind your manners, Traviss."

Although such a scene was typical for the vast majority of students at Haven, this was one of the precious few instances where all four members of Team CYOT (pronounced "Coyote") could be found together, outside of classes or their quarters at least.

"By the way," Olivia began, "I grabbed this for you." The brunette pulled a newspaper from her pack and held it out to Callie.

"Thanks!" The black-haired girl snatched the paper out of her teammate's hand and began leafing through it at a frantic pace.

Traviss looked to his leader. "What're you looking for, Callie?"

"Just a second…" She stopped on one particular page, and began to smile. "Aha, there you are!" She then frowned. "Aw… there's no picture this time."

He tried to lean in, to see what she was looking at. "Picture? Of what?"

"Right here, look." She turned the paper towards him and pointed to a column titled: "Armored Car Robbery Foiled- Bat Believed Responsible."

Traviss read the title. The first half seemed innocuous enough, but the second half was what caught his attention- one single word in particular. He raised an eyebrow. " _'Bat?_ ' What's that supposed to be?"

Callie set the paper aside and looked at Traviss incredulously. "You're kidding, right? You've lived here in Mistral your whole life, and you're telling me you've never heard of the Bat?"

Yuki looked up from her notebook. "Oh come on, Callie, ease up. Just because _you're_ completely obsessed with the Bat, it doesn't mean everyone is."

"I'm not obsessed!" the black-haired girl replied indignantly.

Yuki turned back to her notebook. "Oh, so that board above your desk with all those newspaper articles about the Bat pinned to it was just my imagination, then."

Callie slammed her palms on the table and stood, her face twisted into an angered expression. She opened her mouth to let out some fierce barbs…

"I-I-I'm sorry," Traviss suddenly stammered, sinking low into his seat. "I-If it's something that upsets you, then I… I won't bring it up again."

Callie looked to her partner., her anger ebbing away instantaneously. "What- No, Traviss, this isn't…" She quickly sat down, opening the newspaper again. "H-Here, let me just read this for you. Maybe it'll help you get an idea of what the Bat's all about." Callie then began to read aloud:

"Early this morning, two men were arrested after attempting to rob an armored car in Mistral's Lakeside district. The suspects shot and killed both the car's driver and guard, and were attempting to pick the lock on the rear doors when they are believed to have been assaulted and knocked unconscious by a third party. Although no witnesses were present, due to the trauma the two suspects suffered, it is believed they were confronted by the vigilante known throughout Mistral as 'the Bat.'"

Callie continued: "MPD Chief of Police Mars Petrakov, who was on the scene earlier this morning, declined to comment when asked by reporters if it was possible that the Bat had subdued the suspects. In spite of increasing numbers of reported sightings over the past several years, Chief Petrakov continues to deny the existence of the Bat, stating firmly in a recent press conference, 'There is no such thing as a Bat-Man.'"

Callie looked up from the paper- the rest of her team sat in silent contemplation, absorbing the information she'd shared. After a few moments, Traviss finally asked, "So… what is it? This 'Bat,' I mean?"

"That's the million-lien question," Callie replied as she folded up her newspaper. "The Bat's been around for years- if you believe some of the rumors, he's been in Mistral for about a decade now. But in all that time, no one's been able to figure out just who, or _what_ he is."

"Was he the reason all those Huntsman got called into Mistral a few years ago?" Olivia asked. "They said some kind of monster was attacking people in the middle of the night."

Callie nodded. "That's right. The Academy thought it was a new type of Grimm and called in Huntsmen to track it down- they even gave the new species a name: _Chiropteran_. But after a while, people started to notice something: the thing they were chasing beat people up really bad- you know, broken bones, ruptured organs, a few even ended up in comas… but he never _killed_ anyone. At least, no one could _prove_ he killed anyone. So, the Academy figured it wasn't a Grimm, called off the Huntsmen, and let the police take over."

Yuki brought a hand to her chin, thinking "So, if the Bat isn't a Grimm… what is he?" she asked. "Someone wearing a costume?"

"I've got pictures- the quality's isn't too good, but it looks a little too elaborate to just be a costume," Callie replied.

"The Bat could be some kind of faunus…" Olivia suggested.

"No way! When's the last time you've heard of a faunus that can _fly?_ Besides, if you'd ever seen a picture of him, you'd know he isn't just a faunus." Callie looked over to her partner. "What about you, Traviss? What do you think he might be?"

Traviss jumped slightly, not expecting to be pulled back into the conversation. But then, he looked away, resting his arms on the table. "No idea. But whatever it is, that Bat sounds like a real whackjob."

Callie shot a glare at Traviss. "How can you say something like that?"

"Oh, here we go…" Yuki murmured, closing her eyes and resting her hand on her forehead. This wasn't the first time she'd heard this rant.

"The Bat has done more good in the few years he's been around than the MPD has since they were founded! Hell, he's better at protecting people than Mistral's Huntsmen- you know, the people who swore an oath to protect the Kingdom and its citizens?"

"If you don't think the Huntsmen out there right now are doing a good job, then once you graduate, you're welcome to go out there and do a _better_ one." Traviss glanced at his partner. "Besides, Huntsmen are supposed to fight the Grimm- sending them in to take care of some purse-snatchers seems like overkill, don't you think?"

"That's not the point! A Huntsman's job is to protect people from _all_ threats, not just the Grimm. And I don't know about you, but crime bosses like Nero Volpe seem like a pretty serious threat to me."

Traviss stood up. "Hey, if that thing wants to wage a one-man war on crime by himself, let him. Just don't be too surprised when he eventually loses."

Callie's mouth moved for several moments as she tried- and failed- to find a response. She'd come across more than a few people who disagreed with her views on the Bat and his impact on Mistral, but no one had ever managed to infuriate her as much- or as quickly- as her teammate. Though it wasn't accurate to say that _he_ infuriated her, as much as his _apathy_ infuriated her.

And that was Mistral's biggest problem, she thought. _Apathy_. Thinking that- no matter what anyone did- nothing would change for the better, that it was a waste of effort to even try, that the most one could hope to do was try to keep things from getting worse. And if that were true, then why have Huntsmen? If things truly never would improve, then why didn't humanity just lay down and let themselves be eaten by the Grimm?

Callie shook her head- she was letting herself drift off-topic. But before she could formulate a reply, a shrill bell rang out over the cafeteria, signalling the end of their lunch period. She glanced over to its source briefly.

"…Don't think you're off the hook just yet, Traviss," Callie growled as she looked back to her teammate. "After class, you and I are-"

Traviss was gone.

Callie looked around, but a bright orange beanie was nowhere to be found in the surrounding crowd. She then looked to her teammates. "Where'd he go?"

"I…" Olivia began, before hanging her head in shame. "…I don't know. I got distracted by the bell, so I didn't see."

"Yuki?"

"Working," she replied flatly, her attention once again focused firmly on the small notebook she always seemed to be writing in.

Callie scanned the crowd one last time, letting out a long breath. "…I hate it when he does that."

 **CPHR**

 **(Pronounced "Cipher")**


	2. Upon Wings of Leather

"And… _done._ " Callie sighed, letting her hands fall away from the computer keyboard. She slumped back in her chair for a few moments, before she brought up her hands and flexed her aching fingers. "Olivia? Could you read this over for me?"

"Sure." Callie scooted her chair aside, allowing space for Olivia to lean in and read what she'd typed.

The library had been packed with students when Callie and Olivia arrived just a few hours before. But as the evening wore on, their numbers dwindled until at last, only the black-haired girl and the brunette remained, seated in front of one of the library's computers as Callie worked frantically to complete her assignment for Professor Carmine's class.

"Thanks for helping me out, Olive" Callie said. "I don't know what I was thinking when I picked the Battle of Fort Castle for this report- I don't know the first thing about the Faunus War."

"I'm surprised you don't know more about it, Cal," Olivia replied, without taking her eyes off the screen. "Considering how much you know about all the crime here in Mistral, I thought you'd know that the Faunus War was when all the major crime syndicates really established themselves."

Callie sat up, looking at her teammate. "Wait, really?"

Olivia nodded. "When the four Kingdoms started rounding up faunus to ship them off to Menagerie, some of the syndicates got an idea- they sent out people who told the faunus they'd be safe if they went to Mistral, _and_ that they could take them there… for a price, of course. So, if they paid enough, the syndicates would smuggle faunus into Mistral and then pay people off to keep them from turning them over to the military."

Callie leaned towards her teammate. "For real?"

Another nod. "Yeah. Most of Mistral's crime syndicates started out as faunus traffickers- the big ones, anyway." Olivia's eyes narrowed , and she began to tremble. "Not that things _here_ were much better than they would've been in Menagerie. Being forced to leave your whole life behind, being separated from your loved ones, being corralled and forced to live where someone else tell you to…" The brunette glanced to her teammate." You ever wonder why that district just south of Haven is called 'the Farm?'"

All Callie could do was stare at her teammate in a stunned silence. "…I should really crack open a history book more often." There was an uncomfortable silence as the black-haired girl searched for something- _anything_ else to talk about. "So…" she began uncertainly, "…what about you? What'd you write _your_ report on?"

Callie internally breathed a relieved sigh when Olivia relaxed. "The Invasion of Mantle," the brunette replied. "The last battle of the Great War."

"See, I wish _I'd_ thought of writing on that," Callie said. "The Allies roll into the city, the Equilibrium Council refuses to surrender, and the Allies shell them into oblivion. Easy."

Olivia looked to her teammate again. "Well, you have to talk about how the battle's outcome influences modern times too, not just the battle itself. Something you forgot to add in your report."

"Oh." Callie moved back in front of the computer, her fingers already beginning to ache. "…well, at least I have something to start with."

It would take another hour of typing and poring over oversized history books before Callie and Olivia left the library, report in hand. They walked the long walk between the library and Team CYOT's dorm room, through empty, darkened hallways, chatting idly as they went:

"I'm just glad they have computers here at Haven," Callie said. "Back at my old combat school, we had to do all our reports on typewriters- I would've stabbed someone if I had to type this whole thing all over again." She waved her report for emphasis.

"…By the way," the leader began, "I heard some people saying that the first-years' excursion to the Black Coast got pushed back again. Are we ever gonna get to go on that trip?"

"I asked Professor Moss about that after class yesterday," Olivia replied. "She said a colony of Kraken showed up just off-shore."

Callie raised an eyebrow. "Another one? I thought some Huntsmen just cleared out a colony a couple weeks ago."

"They did. I guess there were more Kraken in the bay than they thought. You _do_ know how hard it is to fight aquatic Grimm, don't you?"

"I know…" Callie looked to Olivia. "So… no trip, then?"

"The professor didn't say that. She said that most likely, we'll be having an excursion to Schwarzbaum Forest instead." Olivia replied as the two ascended a flight of stairs up to the dorms.

Callie sighed. "Schwarzbaum Forest, the Black Coast, the Charcoal Mountains… is there anything around here that _isn't_ black?"

 _The answer to that question was "No." Before receiving its…_ current _reputation, Mistral was most well-known for its metal industries. Dozens of mills across the city smelted steel, copper, iron, and countless other metals- even now, long after the Great War, the mills continue to run, belching fire and smoke into the sky at all hours of the day and night._

 _But decades of such industry had taken its toll. For miles upon miles, the landscape surrounding the capital was stained a charcoal black, and a dark cloud of smog perpetually hung over the city, one so thick as to block out the sun- even in the middle of the day._

 _Still, it wasn't as bad as it used to be- when one had to wear a respirator while outside, and when getting caught in the rain unprotected meant serious chemical burns._

Climbing three flights of stairs, Callie and Olivia entered a narrow hallway lined with doors, but no windows- the dorms. As they walked down the hall, Olivia began, "So… how have things been with Traviss?"

A few embers of anger flared up in Callie's chest, but she quickly extinguished them. "Oh, you know. Same as always: I try to get him to open up, he avoids my questions, and the second I take my eyes off of him, he vanishes." She sighed. "I swear, I'm _this_ close to putting him on a leash."

"Do you think we should talk to Headmaster Wald about it?" Olivia asked as the two came to a stop in front of one particular door.

"No that's only for when teams have big fights," Callie replied as she unlocked the door. "Like that one Team JNGL (pronounced "Jungle") had a while ago." She stepped inside.

The brunette followed. "Can't _you_ do anything? Like… pull rank on him? You _are_ the team leader."

"She tried that once before," a new voice replied. "It didn't work."

The two Huntresses-in-training jolted in surprise, not expecting the room to already be occupied. But they relaxed when they saw Yuki laying on the bed furthest to the right, reading some kind of letter.

"Also," Yuki continued, "if it's not too much to ask, try to keep it down. A certain _someone_ decided to turn in early today." Without looking up, Yuki jabbed a thumb over to the far side of the room.

The dorm rooms in Haven all shared the same general layout: four beds, spaced at equal intervals, were set against the wall opposite the front door; four small desks sat directly across from the beds; and a door leading to the bathroom was located either to the right or to the left of the entrance, depending on the room (for Team CYOT, the bathroom door was to the left). Although students had the freedom to arrange their room's furniture into whatever configuration they deemed most comfortable, Team CYOT chose not to do so- meaning that aside from a few personal effects, the room's layout was perfectly symmetrical…

… save for a light blue curtain surrounding the bed on the far left.

Traviss himself had put it up early in the year, not long after the four had been put on the same team. When Callie had asked him why, his response was simple:

 _I'm a guy, sharing a room with three girls. I hope I don't have to explain any more than that._

The black-haired leader decided he raised a fair point.

Back in the present, Callie approached the drawn curtain uncertainly, before looking back to Yuki. "Is he really in there?" she asked in a hushed tone. Outside of class, Traviss tended to spend his time away from the team, doing God-only-knew-what, to the point that he would be absent when the others went to bed. But he would always be there when the team's alarm went off at 7:30 A.M. sharp- apparently, even _he_ needed to sleep at some point.

Yuki nodded in reply. But Callie wasn't fully convinced. So, she opened the curtain slightly and peered inside.

Sprawled on the bed was the sleeping body of Traviss Rydinger, dressed in his usual set of pajamas: a black sweatshirt and a light gray pair of sweatpants. Seated on his head, though now pulled down to his nose, was his ever-present beanie, still the same obnoxiously bright shade of orange as always. In spite of the heat and humidity Mistral was infamous for, the team's sole boy slept peacefully, even with his heavy attire.

The other two members of Team CYOT crowded around Callie, looking down at the sleeping boy. "Doesn't he _ever_ take that stupid thing off?" Yuki asked.

"I'm amazed he hasn't gotten in trouble for breaking the dress code yet," Olivia said.

Yuki eyed the goggles perched on Olivia's forehead. "Like you're one to talk."

Before any arguments could break out, Callie closed the curtain. "Well I don't know about the rest of you, but I think Traviss has the right idea. I'm beat."

"Well that's what you get for leaving your assignments until the last minute," Yuki said, as she turned back to her own bed.

Callie was too tired to argue as she began to change into her pajamas- her bed being right beside Traviss's. After just a few minutes, the three girls were changed, and Yuki and Olivia were already lying in their beds. Callie crossed the room- as team leader, it was her responsibility to turn out the light at bedtime.

"'Night, guys," she said, flicking off the light switch. The bright light of the room's ceiling lamp was instantly replaced with the soft glow of the city outside, streaming in through the windows.

Callie made her way back to her bed, but before lying down, she sat on her mattress and gazed out the window- outside, a sea of lights shone beneath an empty, starless sky. "You're out there somewhere…"

"Callie did you say something?" Olivia asked from the darkness behind.

"O-Oh, it was nothing," Callie stammered, burying herself in her blankets. She was glad it was dark- she could only imagine what shade of red her burning face must be now. But as she lay under her blankets, staring up at her ceiling, Callie finished her thought. In her head this time.

 _You're out there somewhere. I know it. Other people might not… understand you. They might be afraid of you, or even_ hate _you. But I'm not afraid. In fact, I… I want to meet you again. I know I can never thank you enough for what you've done for this city- for_ me _… but I still want to thank you. Just… once…_

Her last thoughts before sleep took her were of that night, when she was but a helpless child- fire, _terror_... and _him_ , cleaving through that terror like a blade. If anyone had the ability to peer into Callie's memories at that moment, they would've seen a monster, a _demon_ , wreathed in flames.

But not her.

She saw him for what he truly was.

A hero.

A savior, flying through the night, upon wings of leather.

* * *

For a time, the four members of Team CYOT slept peacefully, insulated from the harsh world outside Haven's walls.

But then, one began to stir from their slumber. As they did every night.

* * *

The first thing he became aware of was the pain in the side of his head, a pain that throbbed with every beat of his heart. With a groan, he opened his eyes, having to blink several times to clear the fog from his vision.

He felt something pull his gaze upward. Overhead, he saw a sea of stars. …but, that couldn't be right. There were no stars in Mistral.

"Wh… what? What happened?" he said, unable to make any sense of what he saw.

The man suddenly became aware of something gripping his ankle tightly. He looked down, noting the strange pull on his body. And what he saw nearly made his heart leap out of his chest.

Standing below- or rather, _above_ him, bathed in the light of the flames belching from a smokestack behind was… _it_.

The first scream had been surprise. But surprise soon gave way to pure terror as the man quickly came to understand his situation. He screamed, flailed, twisted, but nothing would break the iron grip that monster held on his ankle. In his terror, he forgot that he was being dangled from a platform near the top of a tall smokestack- hundreds of feet above the ground- and that the slightest slip in the monster's grip would send him hurtling to his death.

Somehow, the man found it in himself to stammer, "L-Lemme go!"

The monster replied with a snarl, before doing just that.

There was an awful floating sensation, and a terrified scream ripped from the man's throat as gravity took hold. But after falling only a dozen feet, something caught his leg, stabbing spears of pain into his hip. His terrified scream was cut off by a pained yelp when he jolted to a stop and slammed into the side of a brick smokestack, face-first. He groaned and coughed, spitting up blood, before feeling something tug on his leg.

He looked up- a rope had been tied around his ankle, a rope that that monster was using to pull him back up. In a matter of moments, the monster grabbed him by the ankle again and threw him against the platform.

The man desperately tried to crawl away- no small feat with the pain stabbing into his hip. " _What do you want from me!_ "

The monster snarled again, before throwing something at his feet. A photograph of his boss. The man looked down on it, then back at the monster.

"Y…You wanna know about Matches?" The monster's answer came in the form of a swift kick to the chest, before his foot pressed down on his skull. " _Okay!_ **_OKAY!_** _I'll tell ya everything!_ "

The man knew that his boss would gut him like a fish for spilling the way he did. But he didn't care about that at the moment. Matches could judge him after _he_ got thrown off a building.

The monster must have been satisfied with what he heard, as the weight on the man's skull was removed. But all of a sudden, a sharp talon seized him by the throat, and the monster lifted him into the air with frightening ease. It carried him over to the ledge, using its free claw to cut the rope.

"W- _Wait! What're you doing!? I told you everything I-_ "

The man was silenced when the monster slammed his elbow against the side of his head.

With a huff, the monster tossed the unconscious man back onto the platform behind it. It would be too much of a hassle to carry him back down to ground level- he could stay up here and reflect on his poor decision-making skills. And in any case, the monster had what it was looking for. So with a few flaps of its great wings, the monster took flight, and disappeared into the night sky.

* * *

Olivia swung her halberd with all her might. But her opponent- a dark-skinned girl with green hair- blocked the blow with one of her submachine guns. For several seconds, the two Huntresses-in-training stood deadlocked, trying to overpower the other. The brunette was the first to pull away, whirling her halberd around her to keep her opponent at bay- but the green-haired girl kept her distance as she aimed her two submachineguns at the brunette and opened fire. Olivia sprinted to the side, turning her halberd around in her hands- she took aim with the gun built into the shaft, and fired a few rounds in return. The green-haired girl dived to the side to avoid the shots, giving Olivia the opening she needed to close in.

As the two students clashed, the rest of Team CYOT, and indeed, all the first year students, looked on. At the edge of the arena, a burly, bald man with a thick brown mustache stood with his arms crossed, body tense, ready to intervene at any moment should the match get out of hand.

 _As a combat school dedicated to educating future Huntsmen and Huntresses, it's only natural that Haven would have facilities for students to hone their fighting skills. But practice dummies and shooting ranges can only take you so far- the practice arena was the place where one could truly test their skills. Twice a week, all the same-year students would gather and watch their classmates pummel each other senseless, if they weren't pummeling or_ being _pummeled themselves._

 _And let me tell you- when you have thirty-nine pairs of eyes judging your every move, you're gonna fight your hardest to make sure_ you _aren't the one getting his ass beat._

 _...didn't stop me from getting more than my fair share of ass-kickings, though._

The green-haired girl stabbed at Olivia with the bayonets mounted on her guns. But Olivia was faster- she dodged to the side, before swinging the shaft of her halberd and striking her foe in the stomach. As the green-haired girl doubled over, Olivia pulled back, and smacked her across the face with the flat of the halberd's blade. The other girl was knocked off her feet, and slid across the arena floor. But after only a moment, she sprung to her feet and charged at Olivia with an angry bellow.

But a deep voice called, "Hold!"

The green-haired girl stumbled to a stop, before looking to the source- the burly man at the arena's edge. "What?" she shouted. "Professor Braun, I'm-"

But Professor Braun interrupted, "I don't believe I need to remind you what that light on your aura gauge means, Ms. Oakley."

The green-haired girl, 'Ms. Oakley,' looked down to the aura gauge on her wrist- sure enough, it was flashing with a bright orange light, meaning her Aura had fallen into the red. She grumbled, but stood down.

"The match goes to Ms. Rangifer," Professor Braun continued, turning his attention to the green-haired girl. "Ms. Oakley, although your medium- and long-range combat skills have improved, your close-range skills are still very weak. If you were with your team, they could compensate for that, but in a one-on-one situation, it's a weakness an enemy can easily exploit." His gaze shifted back to both students. "Please returned to your seats."

The two made their way to the stairs into the seats surrounding the arena. Olivia sat with her team- the green-haired girl took her seat a few rows back. As she took her seat, Olivia overheard one of the green-haired girl's teammates say in a comforting voice, "Nice try, Jani…"

"I believe we have enough time for one last match." The professor's steely eyes swept across the students. "…Ms. Quail, Mr. Rydinger, you have the final match for today."

A murmuring arose among the students. But it was not because the two were teammates- members of the same team were pitted against one another fairly often. Rather, it was because of the difference in skill level between the two. With the fourth-highest number of sparring match victories, Callie was near the top of the class among first-years, in combat class at least. Traviss, on the other hand, ranked dead last, with only two wins to his name since the start of the semester.

As the two members of Team CYOT made their way to the arena floor, the murmurs were silenced by the harsh glares of the combat instructor. Once the two were in the light, Callie took a moment to examine her teammate.

Every one of Traviss's non-school-uniform outfits seemed to be some ugly mishmash of clashing colors and patterns. But through them all, his hideous orange beanie seemed to be the one constant. On this particular day, he wore a yellow and black striped shirt beneath a green blazer, white pants held up by two tan belts, and black boots. In the holsters hanging from his belts rested his weapons: a large .44 caliber revolver with a black finish he called Sable, and an equally large .50 semiautomatic pistol with a silver finish he named Blanche.

Callie, on the other hand, was dressed a bit more sensibly: a black tank top and black jeans, with thin golden stripes running along their sides, and a pair of black running shoes. She had little in the way of armor- her fighting style necessitated mobility- but she wasn't completely unprotected: a pair of light spaulders for her shoulders, sturdy vambraces for her forearms, and a pair of greaves for her shins. Sheathed across her back were her two swords: one straight, the other with a slight curve. They were named Jian and Falx, but as to which one which, only Callie knew for sure.

"Take your positions," Braun ordered.

The two did as they were instructed, taking their places at a pair of lines set about eight feet apart at the center of the arena. Callie drew her swords, one at a time. "Don't hold back just because I'm your leader," she said.

Traviss drew his guns in turn, and replied in a faint voice, "I won't."

All was still for a few moments, until Braun spoke a single word:

"Begin."

Callie rushed forward. Traviss tried to take aim with his revolver, but Callie batted his arm aside with her straight sword, and he fired into the ceiling. She swung her other sword, slashing him across the chest. But Traviss fired his semiauto directly into her chest- with no room to dodge, she had no choice but to take the blow. The shot pushed her back- Traviss backed up, further distancing himself, as he raised both guns and fired them at Callie. She deflected the bullets with her blades, but soon noticed something: though there were some close calls, none of his shots would've actually hit her.

She grimaced. And she told him not to hold back.

Before long, all that emerged from Traviss's guns were hollow clicks. He reached toward his pocket- but Callie charged, refusing to give him a chance to reload. She slashed at him with an overhead strike, but he blocked the blow with his revolver. She swung her free sword at him, and he leapt back to avoid the blade. He fell back gracelessly, rolling from his back onto his feet in a crouching stance. He was wide open- Callie rushed him again as he rose to his feet.

The world slowed for Traviss as he looked up. Callie was only a few feet away, her face set into a determined glare. The sword in her right hand inched toward him, in a wide swing aimed at his left side. With the situation assessed, Traviss automatically moved to counter.

The fear vanished from Traviss's face as he dropped his revolver, and grabbed her arm with his left hand, stopping Callie's swing dead in its tracks. Then, he slammed his right elbow against the side of her face.

A few surprised gasps filled the room. Callie's world spun, and she staggered to the side. It… _hurt_. Even with her aura to dampen the blow, she had no idea Traviss could hit so hard. She shook off the pain and snapped her attention back to Traviss, expecting to find him bearing down on her…

But Traviss stood a few feet away, just… staring at her- from his expression, he seemed just as surprised by his own action as she was. She stole a quick glance at the aura gauge on her wrist- the needle was still in the green, though just barely. And Traviss was still just standing there. So she charged.

Traviss snapped out of his stunned state when he saw her move, and tried to raise his semiauto. But it was too late- Callie had closed the distance, and slashed at his wrist. He cried out in pain and stumbled back, his gun flying from his hand. Before he could regain his balance, Callie struck again, reaching back and slamming the pommel of her straight sword against his stomach. Traviss collapsed to the floor; before he could rise, a foot pressed down against his chest, Callie crossed her blades over his throat, glaring down at him. "Do you yield?" she asked.

Traviss's eyes flicked around, looking for any opening he could exploit. But there was none, and he hung his head in defeat. "…I yield."

Callie moved her blades and stepped back, allowing Traviss to rise. As he did, Professor Braun stepped into the arena. "The match goes to Ms. Quail," he said firmly, before looking to Traviss. "Mr. Rydinger…" he began, "…I'm going to skip over evaluating your usual lackluster performance, but only because of something I noticed during this match: During Ms. Quail's assault, you both found and opening, _and_ took advantage of it. Yet, you did not exploit it further. Why?"

Traviss froze up at the reminder of his mistake. It took several moments for him to reply. "I… I didn't want to hurt my teammate."

Braun let out a long sigh. "In this arena, Mr. Rydinger, the person standing across from you is not your teammate, your classmate, or your friend- they are your enemy. And at any rate, Ms. Quail's aura is more than capable of protecting her from harm." The professor crossed his arms over his chest and gave Traviss a firm glare. "Restraining yourself while sparring here benefits no one, yourself least of all. Especially when your enemy will _not_ extend that same courtesy to you."

Traviss hung his head in shame for a second time as Braun turned his attention to the surrounding students. "That concludes our class for today. Remember both what you've seen, and the advice I've shared with you all. And for those of you who lost their matches: it's better that you suffer defeat here, where only your pride is at stake. In the field, failure can wound much more than your pride." He clasped his hands behind his back. "You are dismissed."

The other students began to file out of the room. Callie looked to Traviss for a moment, before she sheathed her blades and followed the crowd, leaving him alone.

Traviss turned to retrieve his weapons, the match playing over and over in his head. But he was not ashamed of his loss- that was something he endured regularly now. He grimaced as the image of his hand grabbing onto Callie's arm appeared in his head.

He slipped up.

He couldn't let that happen again.


	3. Off Guard

_People who study the Grimm for a living tend to be seen by the public as rather…_ odd _. They'd have to be, for wanting to study the very beings bent on wiping mankind from existence._

"Step lively!" a mousy (though not literally) brunette in a green scarf called cheerfully. "And remember, we're in enemy territory now." The professor made her way through a cluster of barren, jet-black trees, a group of students following her.

 _And Haven's own Grimm expert, Professor May Moss, was no exception. But even amongst Grimm biologists, her_ admiration _of the soulless beasts reached an entirely new level. It was commonly rumored that she found Grimm… attractive, and her analyses of Grimm and their features had more than once been described by her colleagues as "borderline-perverse." Still, she_ was _an instructor at Haven, which meant she was not only a Huntress, but a damned good one at that._

All around the professor and her students, skeletal trees stripped of leaves stretched as far as the eye could see in every direction, their bark stained a jet-black due to pollution from the capital. In all, the Schwarzbaum Forest gave the impression that it was a place in which mankind was not welcome. But despite appearances, people made their lives in this seemingly forsaken place. And that was precisely why Team CYOT and the rest of the first-year teams were here.

According to the briefing Professor Moss had given them on the flight from Haven, a number of settlements along Mistral's northern border had reported sighting Grimm roaming through the Schwarzbaum Forest. Seeing an opportunity for its students to gain experience in the field, Haven elected to send its first-years on an excursion to the forest with a simple objective: Find and eliminate the Grimm. "Most likely," the professor said during the briefing, "the Grimm entered the kingdom by crossing the mountains along the northern border. The Snowcap Mountains along the border are an excellent natural barrier- make no mistake, but they can't stop _every_ Grimm." A malicious smirk crossed her face. "And that's where _we_ come in."

All of a sudden, the young professor stopped and turned to face her students. "And here we are. The most recent reported Grimm sighting was in this exact spot." She pointed at the ground for emphasis.

The students looked around- there was nothing here, aside from dead trees partially obscured by fog. "So where are they, then?" a blond boy with a longsword across his back asked. He would've been otherwise unremarkable, were it not for the fact that the boy's sword was nearly as long as he was tall.

"Ah, I thought someone might ask that," Professor Moss replied, tapping her temple. "You see, Mr. Gainsboro, Grimm may be drawn by negative emotions, but their movements may not always be so easy to predict. It may become necessary at times for a Huntsman to examine the environment, to search for signs of Grimm, follow the trail to their quarry, and strike a killing blow when the time is right. There _is_ a reason we're called 'Huntsmen' after all. Now…"

Professor Moss's words faded as Callie's thoughts began to drift elsewhere. And soon, her thoughts- as they had numerous times already- guided her back to her sparring match with Traviss a few days before. To the moment when the battle had shifted- even if only briefly- in his favor. His movements played through her mind, slowly: him, dropping his weapon; then, him seizing her wrist with his now-free hand; and finally, him drawing back his elbow in the corner of her eye, before striking her with a blow that sent her reeling. …at least, she assumed it was his elbow- she'd been so surprised when he abandoned his weapon that she'd focused almost all her attention on his free hand. She'd already run through the match in her head well over a dozen times already… and yet, it made just as little sense as it had the first time around.

Traviss's counter had not been the last desperate ploy of a fighter on the ropes. It was precise, calculated, fully intended to stop her dead in her tracks. And his expression… all the fear and panic vanished instantly once his gun left his hand. He looked… impassive. _Serene,_ even. As if he'd performed that maneuver countless times before. Sure, it could've just been a fluke- a one-off that would never happen again… but for some reason, Callie doubted that. It was possible- no, it was _more_ than possible that until that moment, Traviss been holding back. Hiding the true extent of his skills.

But… _why?_ Like Professor Braun said, pulling his punches wouldn't benefit anyone. And speaking of punches… could Traviss have been an unarmed specialist? Granted, Huntsmen who fought Grimm wit their bare hands were rare, but they _did_ exist. And again, if that were the case, why hide it? Why restrict himself to guns that he seemed to struggle-

The black-haired leader jolted slightly when something tapped her shoulder. "Callie?" Yuki asked.

Callie took a short breath to calm herself, hoping the others hadn't noticed her lack of attention. "What is it?"

"Our teams are supposed to spread out. Professor Moss told us to check out the southwest."

The black-haired girl nodded. "Right." She glanced around to get her bearings. "Let's go." And she set out, the rest of her team following.

Callie had to admit, before the "incident" in combat class, she'd been looking forward to this excursion. If nothing else, it was an excuse to get out of their school uniforms- in the heat of the capital, they were liable to broil a person alive. At the moment, Callie wore her usual combat attire, but with her black tank-top swapped for a similar black zip-up hoodie- outside the capital itself, Mistral tended to be rather cold.

She glanced back at her teammates. Olivia had donned her usual combat attire as well: her goggles, along with an olive drab bomber jacket paired with brown cargo pants and thick brown boots. Yuki shivered due to her outfit: a thick grey long-sleeved shirt paired with a white-and-gray plaid skirt over black tights. Beanie aside, Traviss's ensemble was rather _subdued_ … for Traviss, at least: his white pants were now paired with a black leather jacket, worn over a light grey long-sleeved shirt.

"Ugh," Team CYOT's sole male member groaned. "Why's it so bright out here?" He was squinting so hard, Callie considered it a miracle he could even see where he was going.

"It's called 'the sun,' Traviss," Olivia replied, looking back. "I'm guessing you don't go outside the capital much, do you?"

Traviss shook his head. "Not really. I mean, I've heard you can see it in the morning if you go out to the Seawall, but-"

A strange sound emerged from the surrounding fog- a kind of skittering over the dirt. The group immediately fell silent and reached for their weapons. For several long seconds, there was only silence as the four scanned the surrounding mist for any moment, weapons in hand. But there was nothing- no movement, no sound.

"We _did_ hear that, right?" Olivia asked.

Callie shot her a glare. " _Quiet._ "

Yuki gripped her weapon tightly: a pump-action shotgun-sword hybrid with a sharp blade attached to the underside of the barrel. Then, she saw a small shadowy figure rush towards them. "Look out!" Without waiting, Yuki aimed and fired at the shadow- her shot struck the shadow and it flew back. It slid across the ground, before coming to a stop, laying motionless.

The group cautiously approached the thing, weapons ready. As they did, they saw black wisps rising from it as it began to dissipate. Which could mean only one thing… and the team's suspicions were confirmed when they had a clear look at the body: a black, rat-like creature the size of a small dog, with a red-and-white mask over its eyes.

A Hamelin- one of the countless varieties of Grimm that stalked Remnant. Their small size meant that individuals weren't especially threatening, but there was one thing a Huntsman had to remember about Hamelin (something that was true of _all_ Grimm, to some extent)…

"Everyone, form up and keep your eyes open," Callie said. "Remember the Golden Rule."

The others did as ordered, standing in a circle with their backs to one another. "Uh… do unto others as they do to you?" Traviss asked.

"Wrong Golden Rule, Traviss," Yuki replied flatly.

Before the white-haired girl could say anything else, Olivia answered Traviss's question: "When it comes to Hamelin, there's _never_ just one."

Within moments, the air was filled with a cacophony of high-pitched shrieks. From the fog in front of Olivia, a squirming black wave with dozens of glowing red eyes surged forward. " _Over there!_ " Olivia raised her gun-halberd and fired into the black mass, killing a few before they closed the distance. Callie then stepped forward, swords swinging, slicing the mass of Hamelin apart.

" _Yuki! Traviss! Stay behind us and cover our flanks!_ " she barked as she hacked at the endless stream of black bodies. At her side, Olivia spun her halberd rapidly in her hands, slicing apart any Hamelin that approached. Yuki covered their sides- any that tried to creep around were torn apart in a spray of buckshot.

But it took only moments for the team to realize that they were in trouble. For every Grimm cut down, another immediately took its place. Yuki swung her weapon at one of the beasts and cut it in two, having no time to reload her weapon. "There's too many!"

Callie shouted, "We have to fall back- try to find the professor or one of the other teams!"

"I'll give us some space!" Olivia raised her halberd over her head and focused for a brief moment, before she slammed its blade against the ground. A brilliant white shockwave erupted from the ground- her teammates staggered, but the blast knocked the swarming Hamelin away with ease.

"Nice work!" Callie called, "now come on!" As the Hamelin rose to their feet, the team began to fall back. But Callie quickly realized something was very wrong- she skidded to a stop, and looked back to their old position.

Traviss was still there, standing stock-still- as if frozen, save for a slight tremble. His eyes were wide, his mouth slightly agape as his chest rapidly rose and fell- he gripped his weapons in his hands tightly, but they were not aimed at the Grimm. Realizing he was alone, the Hamelin began to encircle him.

The black-haired girl screamed, " _Traviss, run! Get out of there!_ "

The boy jolted, as if suddenly awakened, just in time to spot a Hamelin leaping at him, jaws wide. He swung his revolver at it and knocked it away; but another leapt at him and sank its teeth into his arm, clawing at him furiously. He bashed its skull in with the butt of his semiauto, but another Hamelin latched onto his shoulder. He tried to knock it away, but another three grabbed onto his arm.

Callie didn't give any orders to her teammates. In fact, as far as she was concerned, they no longer existed. Her feet flew across the ground as every thought in her mind was replaced by a single overriding command: save her teammate. The Hamelin noticed her approach, but were given no chance to react as the black-clad girl mercilessly cut them down. The horde turned to face her, recognizing the new threat, but they soon joined their pack-mates in oblivion. Within seconds, over two dozen Grimm met their end on Callie's blades. But there were so many between him and her, and he was so far away… she'd never be able to reach him, not before the Hamelin stripped him to the bone…

But suddenly, a wave of flames erupted from behind Callie and swept over the area. The Hamelin latched onto Traviss let go and dropped to the ground, screeching as they curled up into charred husks. The rest of the black horde met a similar end as they were swallowed by the fire and incinerated completely. What few Hamelin that survived scattered and fled back into the woods- though whether it was simply instinctive fear of fire, or recognition that they'd lost this fight, Team CYOT couldn't say.

"Pity," an older woman's voice said. "I'd hoped to preserve at least one specimen."

The four looked over, to see a familiar woman in a green scarf, clutching a glowing red crystal. "That aside, I believe that takes care of the Grimm we were looking for." Professor Moss pocketed the crystal and stepped forward. "Ms. Quail, come with me, please- we should round up the other teams. Ms. Okuhotaka, Ms. Rangifer, please escort Mr. Rydinger to the landing zone. There should be a medic on standby."

Professor Moss began to head deeper into the woods, but stopped and looked back. "Also, if you happen to come across any more Grimm, could you… actually, never mind. I think it best if I do that myself." She turned again and disappeared into the surrounding trees, with Callie following. Once they were gone, Yuki and Olivia looked to the last member of their team.

Traviss had fallen to his hands and knees, sweating bullets and breathing shallow breaths. At first glance, he didn't appear badly injured- he had maybe a dozen bites and scratches, with little blood. Still, it would be best to have him looked at- the Grimm might have poisoned him, or infected him with some kind of Grimm-borne disease.

Olivia was the first to approach him. "Are you alright, Traviss?"

He didn't respond. So she grabbed his shoulder and shook him. " _Traviss._ " But still, nothing. Olivia glanced back. "Yuki, take point. I've got him." She lifted the boy up, slinging his arm across her shoulder, and began to walk him back to the landing zone. Olivia glanced over at her teammate- while his feet were moving, Traviss's eyes were glassy, and he didn't acknowledge her or Yuki at all. If Olivia had to guess, he was in shock, and there was no way to know when he'd snap out of it.

But as the three walked, Olivia and Yuki jumped slightly when Traviss suddenly began to speak. "I…" he began. "…I'm… sorry. I shouldn't've let that happen."

"It's okay," Olivia said. "It can happen even to the best of Huntsmen."

" _No_ ," he snapped. "It's _not_ okay. I almost got all of you killed. If Professor Moss hadn't been there…" Traviss fell silent once more.

Yuki glanced back at him, as if to say something. But Olivia looked to her, and silently shook her head. The brunette then turned her attention back to the boy. "What… what happened back there?"

He hesitated, as if uncertain about how to answer. "I… I'm not used to fighting Hamelin. And there were so many, I… I'm better at fighting things closer to my own height."

Traviss's words reminded the two of something Professor Moss had said in one of her lectures. She'd told the class that in the regions surrounding Mistral, the species of Grimm that claimed the most lives wasn't Beowolves, Ursai, or Krakens - that distinction belonged to the Hamelin. Their small size was their greatest asset- it rendered almost all conventional combat techniques useless against them, allowing them to easily swarm and devour a hapless victim in a matter of seconds. Even Huntsmen with decades of experience could suffer such a fate, if a swarm of Hamelin took them by surprise.

The three soon came to a large clearing. Parked in the center with its doors open was the airship that had brought them out this far- a Bullhead. And sitting at the edge of one of the Bullhead's open doors was a man in white: one of the medics Haven had sent with them on the excursion. He quickly took notice of the approaching trio. "Hey, you guy okay? What happened?"

"We ran into a pack of Hamelin- our teammate Traviss got the worst of it," Olivia replied. "He looks okay, but Professor Moss told us to bring him to you."

The medic nodded, waving over someone within the Bullhead, and was joined by a second man in white. "We'll take things from here. Just help us get him onboard."

* * *

The bright rays of the afternoon sun were soon smothered by the dark clouds surrounding Mistral. Once the Bullhead had landed at Haven and its passengers disembarked, Team CYOT went their separate ways: Traviss was carted off to the infirmary for a full examination, Callie left to make a full report of the excursion to Professor Braun with the other team leaders, and with no other plans for the day, Yuki and Olivia returned to their room.

And almost the moment they stepped into the room, Yuki finally said the words she'd been holding in ever since the incident in Schwarzbaum: "So… is anyone gonna talk about what happened back there? Because if no one else is going to do it, then I _will_."

Olivia tried to stop her: "Yuki-"

Yuki held up a hand. "No, Olivia. I know what you're going to say. But what happened back in Schwarzbaum was _not_ okay." The white-haired girl walked to her bed and began searching for something beneath it. "The only reason we got through that was because Professor Moss was there. But what if she hadn't been? What would've happened to Callie, to the rest of us?"

"Yuki, we're a team," Olivia replied, crossing her arms over her chest. "All of us should've done what Callie did."

"And if we did that, _all of us_ could've died. I _know_ that we're a team, that we're supposed to have each other's backs…" Yuki pulled out her signature notebook. "…but sometimes, a Huntsman has to recognize that there's a point when a person _can't_ be saved. Even when it's their own teammate."

Olivia could only stare at her friend. "Yuki, I can't believe what I'm hearing. Are you telling me that we should've just hung back and _let_ Travis get eaten?"

Yuki was silent as she took a seat at her desk.

Olivia felt her jaw drop. "…oh my God, that _is_ what you're saying, isn't it?"

" _I never said that._ " Yuki refused to look at her teammate.

"You don't _need_ to," she spat. "You've already said enough."

Yuki's shoulders slumped as she let out a long exhale. "…Olivia. He froze up. You and I both saw it."

"So? That doesn't mean anything, Yuki. We're all going through this training for a reason," Olivia replied curtly as she sat down on her bed. "Did you ever consider the possibility that might've been the first time Traviss ever faced the Grimm?" She leaned forward. "Not everyone is like us- not everyone had the chance to go to a combat school before coming here."

"I'm just saying. It takes a certain kind of person to become a Huntsman. And I don't think Traviss is that kind of person." Yuki's nose was, once again, buried in her notes.

"And _I'm_ saying that you should have more faith in him. He _can_ fight- I've seen it."

Yuki scoffed and looked back. "When?"

"Didn't you see his initiation test?"

Yuki shook her head. "No. I had my own test to take care of."

At that moment, there was a click from the door, before it swung open to reveal Callie. "Hey guys," she said as she stepped inside. "Sorry I took so long."

"It's fine," Olivia replied. "I know your stuff as the team leader is important." She leaned back and forth, trying to peer past Callie. "…is Traviss with you?"

The black-haired girl crossed her arms and gave a sullen gaze. "What do you think?"

"Is he still at the infirmary?" the brunette asked.

Callie shook her head as she closed the door behind her. "The nurse said his injuries weren't that serious, so they released him." She glanced to the brunette. "…He hasn't stopped by _here_ , has he?"

Olivia took a glance to her right- the curtain hanging around Traviss's bed was open, and the bed itself empty. "Nope, sorry." She looked back to her leader. "By the way, did you happen to see Traviss's initiation test?"

Callie sat down on her own bed. "I didn't. My test at the same time." She raised an eyebrow curiously. "…why?"

"Olivia seems to think that his performance during his initiation will override what happened back in Schwarzbaum," Yuki replied.

Olivia's attention snapped to her partner, and her mouth opened as she prepared to trade barbs with her again… but she was interrupted by Callie asking, "Did you really see it, Olivia?"

The brunette's thoughts came to a screeching halt. But she quickly collected herself, and replied, "Uh, yeah. I was in the stands with the rest of the new students…"

* * *

 _Haven's colosseum buzzed with activity as it filled to the bursting point. Haven's entire student body must have been assembled there, along with its newly accepted students, and applicants hoping to get their chance to prove themselves. A brunette with goggles resting on her forehead sat with the rest of Haven's newest batch of students- she'd passed her test the day before with flying colors, and like many others, she was interested in seeing the capabilities of her future classmates._

 _Today, Haven's students were in for a special treat- as part of the initiation tests, a number of would-be students would not be facing one another in the colosseum, but rather, they would square off against a few of the academy's current students. Although Olivia had not been chosen to participate in these particular tests, she understood they followed standard tournament rules: two applicants, or an applicant and a Haven student, would battle in the arena until one's aura fell to the point they were unable to continue._

 _However, as many hopeful students were surprised (and sometimes_ dismayed _) to learn, victory did not guarantee entry into Haven, due to potential differences in skill level- particularly in duels between applicants and current students. Rather, an applicant's acceptance or rejection would be based on their performance in the battle- endurance, finesse, tactical decisions, and a number of other factors known only to the evaluating professors._

Because of the poor economic status for Mistral as a whole, recruitment for Haven worked a little differently when compared to the academies of other kingdoms. Where other kingdoms would have aspiring Huntsmen and Huntresses attend combat school before moving onto the academy of their choice (if their grades were acceptable), to get into Haven, all one had to do was either be recommended by a graduate Huntsman, or send in an application and hope for the best. Experience in one of Mistral's three combat schools could tilt the odds in one's favor a little in the latter case, but ultimately, being accepted came down almost entirely to chance.

But of course, just being recommended or having your application accepted didn't mean you became a student at Haven- at least, not right away. First, there came an extensive, and exhaustive background check conducted by Haven's previous graduates- if criminal ties of any kind were found, the applicant was rejected outright. Understandable, considering the climate around Haven at the time. Next, was an interview with a panel of the school's professors. No one was sure exactly what its purpose was, but most assumed it to be some sort of psychological evaluation. Assuming one made it through _that_ , the final hurdle was the initiation test.

And as many prospective students learned, the test could be almost anything; from a written exam, to an elimination-style tournament, to assisting nomads outside the kingdom, to killing Grimm. Some were more dangerous than others, but all were unpredictable- intended to reflect how a situation could change at any moment for a Huntsman, and to gauge how well a prospective student could adapt.

 _The chatter in the colosseum died down as a massive bald man with a thick brown mustache stepped into the center of the colosseum floor. "Students, applicants, welcome to the second phase of this year's initiation tests." His voice was loud- loud enough to echo through the colosseum without having to use a microphone. "We have a large number of applicants to go through, so let's not waste any time getting started. We'll begin with the first pair of combatants…"_

 _A board above the colosseum floor lit up- names and photos began cycling on its many screens, until coming to a stop on two in particular. The mustached man read the names aloud: "Third-year student, Jean Cobalt, versus applicant, Traviss Rydinger."_

 _From opposite gates on the colosseum floor, two young men entered the arena. One was clad in blue armor, a rifle with an axe head embedded in the hilt slung across his shoulder, standing tall with a confident smile on his face. A few cheers went up from the crowd- that one_ must _have been Jean. Opposite him emerged a boy in a white long-sleeved shirt, black shorts, and- curiously- a bright orange beanie; Traviss, presumably._

 _The two came to a stop at a pair of white lines near the center of the arena floor. "Man," Jean began, "it must really suck to be you right now. I almost feel bad about what's gonna happen to you." He turned his weapon around in his hands, to use it as a rifle. "_ Almost. _"_

 _Traviss said nothing in reply, simply cracking his fingers, leaving his weapon- a black revolver- in the holster on his hip._

 _A few whispers went up in the crowd, and Olivia raised her eyebrows in surprise. Was he insane? He had a weapon right there on his belt- why hadn't he drawn it? Or was he that arrogant to think he didn't need it?_

 _The smile rapidly faded from Jean's face. "What, nothin'? You should show your upperclassmen some respect! At least, that's what I_ would _say, 'cuz you're never setting foot in this school again!" He pointed his rifle at Traviss. "I'll make sure of that!" Jean's words riled up the crowd- some hurled jeers at Traviss, while others encouraged Jean to hurt him in various ways. But the calm expression on Traviss's face never wavered._

 _But soon enough, the crowd fell silent once again when a black-haired man in green, seated at a box near the arena floor, rose to his feet._

 _Olivia didn't know the man personally, but she did recognize him: Forrest Wald, Headmaster of Haven._

 _"_ _Gentlemen," he said, in a calm- if tired- voice. "Are you ready?"_

 _"_ _Let's do this already!" Jean called._

 _Traviss simply nodded._

 _"_ _Take your positions," the mustached man said, stepping back to the edge of the arena._

 _The two young men did as they were ordered._

 _The mustached man crossed his arms over his chest. "…Begin."_

 _Jean immediately fired at Traviss- but the boy in the orange beanie threw himself to the side to avoid his fire before charging his opponent. He closed the distance with ease- and with no space to fire, Jean swung the butt of his gun at his opponent. Traviss slid to the side, before leaping up to deliver a quick kick to Jean's side._

 _Jean staggered but regained his balance. Turning, he quickly turned his weapon around, and swung the axe blade at Traviss wildly. But the boy in the orange beanie hopped back to avoid the swing, before rapidly circling behind the blue-clad boy again. Jean spun to face Traviss, letting out another powerful swing, but Traviss ducked under it, before retaliating with a few quick jabs._

 _Even from Olivia's place in the stands, the bewilderment on Jean's face was evident as Traviss weaved around his attacks with ease. The newcomer was fast- much faster than someone at his skill level should've been. Could he have been using a semblance to boost his speed? Or to predict Jean's movements? There were no rules against it, but with his weak counterattacks all Traviss was doing was aggravating his opponent. With the differences in their strength, if Jean could get in even just_ one _good hit, the fight was as good as over._

 _"_ Hold still! _" Jean roared. He brought his axe back behind his head, before swinging But Traviss grabbed Jean's weapon, before he leapt up and struck with a powerful roundhouse kick. Jean stumbled back, clutching his head, not realizing he'd let go of his weapon. Traviss's hands flew across the weapon- various parts dropped to the ground as the boy disassembled it, rendering its firing mechanism useless. He then tossed the rest of the weapon aside, far outside of Jean's reach._

 _Despite being disarmed, Jean charged, pulling back his fist. "_ You son of a bit- _"_

 _Jean was cut off when Traviss hit him with a quick but powerful jab to the stomach. But before he could even double over in pain, the boy in the orange beanie spun, and struck Jean in the face with his forearm. The blow knocked Jean off his feet, and his head slammed against the ground, back-first._

 _The entire colosseum fell silent. Jean laid on the ground, motionless. Traviss looked down at his unmoving opponent, arms raised, but he lowered his guard and stepped back as the mustached man and a pair of medics rushed to the fallen boy. They examined him for a few moments, before the mustached man looked up to the headmaster's box and gave a thumbs-down._

 _Murmuring erupted amongst the stands. While the newcomers and hopefuls could only watch in confusion, the students of Haven understood what the signal meant- Jean was unfit to continue the match._

 _Headmaster Wald nodded, and he motioned to the other professors. They convened and spoke amongst themselves for a minute or two as Jean was carried out of the arena on a stretcher. Then, Headmaster Wald stood and looked down at the boy left standing._

 _"_ _Traviss Rydinger. After evaluating your performance, the professors and have concluded in a 4-to-1 vote that you have passed your initiation test. Congratulations, and welcome to Haven."_

 _All at once, the colosseum erupted in a chorus of boos and jeers. But strangely, Traviss didn't seem at all bothered by it. He simply nodded up at the headmaster in acknowledgement, before he turned and walked back to the gate he'd entered from. He showed no reaction, even when some of the students in the stands began throwing things at him as he approached the gate._

 _Amidst the jeering crowd, Olivia sat in silence. A new applicant, a virtual unknown, had just defeated a third-year student. And he made the older boy look like a fool while doing it. She brought a hand up to her chin as she watched the boy leave the arena._ Interesting… _she thought to herself._ And his movements- it was almost like…

* * *

Yuki crossed her arms, unconvinced. "…he did all that?" She'd turned away from her desk, to face her other teammates.

Olivia looked to the white-haired girl. "If you don't believe me, you can ask any of the upperclassmen. And from what I've heard, that Cobalt guy still has it in for Traviss for making him look bad in front of the whole school."

Yuki brought a hand up to her chin in thought for a moment, before turning her attention back to her desk. "I won't deny that fighting people and fighting Grimm are two different things. But, if he's really as good as you say, then he wouldn't be doing so badly in combat class."

Olivia opened her mouth to reply, but Callie cut her off: "Alright you two, that's enough." She looked to Olivia. "Olive, Yuki's right. Even if Traviss did all that during initiation, he definitely isn't showing that same level of skill now." The team leader paused for a moment. "I… I think we need to have a team meeting. To try and figure out what his problem is."

Yuki breathed a sigh of relief. "Finally. Maybe now we can finally put a proper team together." Olivia simply glowered at the white-haired girl in silence.

Callie continued, "But if we do this, we do it right. We're trying to help him work better with us- we're not trying to replace him, _or_ get him kicked out of Haven." She shot a glance at Yuki as she said this. "And, we do it ourselves. We only bring in the professors if we absolutely have to."

"I suppose that's fair enough," Yuki said, setting her notebook aside. "So when do we get started?"

"Well…" Callie began, rising to her feet. "…would _now_ be a good time?"


	4. Unmasked

Unfortunately for the three girls of Team CYOT, Traviss proved more uncooperative than they would have liked.

Granted, his sudden disappearance was hardly a new phenomenon. Ever since the start of the school year, Traviss would regularly vanish without a trace, only to later reappear just as suddenly- even when he was gone late at night, he would always be in his bed by the next morning, fast asleep. At first, the rest of the team would search high and low across Haven for him- but after so many unsuccessful searches, Team CYOT simply left the boy to his own devices, trusting that he would eventually return to them on his own.

And this time, their search for Traviss proved to be just as fruitless as always. No matter where they went, no matter who they asked, they found no trace of their missing teammate- it was as though he had simply fallen off the face of Remnant. By the time they called off the search and returned to their dorm, it was nearly midnight. And to the surprise of no one, Traviss was not there waiting for them.

"Don't worry guys," Callie assured as they settled in for the night. "He's always back by morning."

But when the next morning came, and Yuki awoke, she quickly found something amiss: the curtain surrounding Traviss's bed was wide open, and the bed itself empty, completely undisturbed from the morning before.

Which was why she dressed herself in silence, crept out of the room, and now stood- alone- before a pair of wooden doors at the topmost level of the cathedral at the very heart of Haven. Beyond those doors lay the office of Forrest Wald, the Headmaster of the academy.

Yuki knew that by simply coming this far, she was betraying the trust of her two teammates. …But enough was enough. Everything else up to this point she _might_ have been able to forgive, but Traviss's… _display_ in the Schwarzbaum Forest was the last straw. If he froze up when confronted by the Grimm- the very beings he was being trained to kill… then he had no place at Haven. And if Callie and Olivia were blind to the truth, willfully or otherwise, then she would simply have to go to someone _willing_ to see things for what they were.

And in cases like this, sometimes it was better to ask for forgiveness than for permission.

Taking a breath to calm herself, Yuki reached up, and rapped her knuckles against the hard wood. For a few seconds, there was only silence… until a tired voice from beyond said, "Enter." And Yuki obeyed, pushing the door open.

The room beyond was, in truth, much smaller than Yuki expected. It resembled the apse of a cathedral- shaped like a half-circle, and topped with a half-dome- and was sparsely furnished, containing only a few bookshelves, a few lights mounted to the walls, and a dark wooden desk in the center of the room. Behind this desk sat a man with dark brown hair, in a dark green suit: Headmaster Wald. Set into the wall behind the man was a great, round window of stained glass, depicting a winged flame- the emblem of Mistral.

The headmaster looked up from his desk. "Ms. Okuhotaka," he said. "I don't normally have visitors at this hour."

"I'm sorry, Professor Wald," Yuki replied, taking a step forward. "I know I don't have an appointment, but there's something urgent I need to talk to you about."

"That's quite alright." He motioned to the vacant chair in front of his desk. "Please, have a seat."

Yuki crossed the room, and sat across from the headmaster. The desk before her was simple, plain, and surprisingly vacant- the only thing on it was a group of playing cards, arranged in a game of solitaire. As soon as she sat, Wald turned his attention back to his game. "How can I help you?" he asked.

"It's… about my teammate. Traviss Rydinger." She paused as she selected her next choice of words. "…I'm… sure you're already aware of this, but he's-"

Yuki's words died in her throat when Wald laid down a card and interrupted her, stating simply: "You believe I was mistaken in admitting him to Haven."

The white-haired girl choked at the directness of the Headmaster's statement. But she quickly gathered herself. "Forgive me for being so blunt, but… _yes_. I do. His performance in combat class isn't just the worst among the first-years, but one of the worst in Haven's history." She shifted, clasping her hands across her lap. "And after what happened in our excursion to the Schwarzbaum Forest… It's clear- to me at least- that Traviss doesn't have the skills to become a Huntsman. He… he doesn't belong here."

Headmaster Wald's response was every bit as blunt as it was unexpected: "I could say the same about you, Ms. Okuhotaka." He never looked up as he laid another card on the table. "But then again, we both know that 'Yuki Okuhotaka' isn't your _real_ name."

Yuki twitched… but kept her facial expression level. " _I have absolutely no idea what you mean by that, sir_ ," she replied in a slow voice, in an effort to remain calm.

"I believe know _exactly_ what I'm talking about, Yuki. Or perhaps, you would prefer…" The headmaster's eyes flicked up towards her for the briefest of moments. "… _Bianca._ "

Yuki froze. Her throat clamped shut in terror, and for several moments, she could only stare at the headmaster, her mouth moving silently. Eventually, she managed to stammer, "…h-how?"

"How did I know?" Wald asked in return, finally looking up at her fully. "It is _my job_ to know things, Ms. Okuhotaka."

He set down his cards and rested his elbows on his desk, clasping his hands in front of him. "And with my knowledge, I could have very easily prevented you from ever setting foot in Haven. However, I chose to overlook your past, and admitted you to this academy." Yuki leaned forward, but the older man held up his hand to stop her. "Rest assured, your secret will not leave this room. Unless _you_ feel it necessary to share it with others."

The white-haired girl slumped back into her seat, and asked weakly, "…why?"

"I have my reasons," Wald replied, unmoving. "Just as I have reasons for _every_ decision I've made. The reasoning behind my decisions may not always be clear to others, but make no mistake- that does not mean they don't exist." He rested his hands on the desk. "And if nothing else, I hope you will come to understand that."

A heavy silence hung between the two for several long seconds. Then, the headmaster turned his attention back to his cards. "The cafeteria will be serving breakfast soon. It won't help to sit through your classes on an empty stomach." He glanced up at her. "Unless of course, there was something _else_ you wished to discuss."

"Uh, n-no, sir," Yuki stammered, quickly rising to her feet. Without waiting for a dismissal, the white-haired girl fled from the room. As soon as she crossed the threshold into the hall, she leaned against the doors and sank to the floor, clutching her chest. Her breaths were heavy, and her heart hammered wildly under her ribs.

Yuki had always heard that Headmaster Wald… that _all_ of the Headmasters of the Huntsman academies were exceptionally brilliant and perceptive individuals. …But those in Mistral's dark side could every bit as perceptive. Yet, her disguise- her new self- had fooled even the sharpest amongst them; only one person in all of Mistral knew the truth. And yet, _he'd_ seen right through her. Seen right through what so many other dangerous individuals hadn't. Could there have been a leak? …no, that couldn't be it- if that were the case, then her and her uncle's heads would already be hanging above Volpe's mantle. And he said her secret wouldn't leave his office, meaning…

"And what happened to handling this on our own?" a voice to Yuki's left asked.

Yuki yelped in shock, whirling around to the source of the voice. Olivia was leaning against the wall next to the doors, arms crossed, a hard glare on her face.

" _Olive!_ " Yuki scrambled to come up with some kind of explanation or excuse, but nothing would come to her. She simply sank to the floor once again, letting out a defeated groan.

After a moment with no answer, the brunette merely sighed. "You know, you're lucky _I_ found you instead of Callie." A pause. "…what did he say?"

Yuki looked to her. "Huh?"

"Judging from how worn out you look," Olivia began, pushing herself away from the wall, "I'm guessing Headmaster Wald isn't taking Traviss off the team. So, what happened? …Did he yell at you?" She raised an eyebrow. "Did _you_ yell at _him?_ "

"N-No, of course not!" Yuki protested, her heart finally beginning to settle. "The headmaster said…" The Headmaster had said quite a lot, actually. But much of it wasn't exactly the sort of thing Yuki was willing to share, even with her closest friend. "…he said that, every choice he's made, he made for a reason. Even if _we_ can't see them."

A small smile formed on Olivia's lips. "There. If the Headmaster himself can't convince you, then I don't know what will." She approached Yuki and pulled her to her feet. "Listen- whatever Traviss's problem is, we'll fix it." The brunette clapped her hand on Yuki's shoulder. "You'll see. Just trust us."

Yuki brushed her friend's hand away. "I _do_ trust you. You, Callie, _and_ the Headmaster." She turned away. "It's _Traviss_ I don't trust."

"Why not?"

Yuki crossed her arms over her chest, looking to the floor. "…When I was growing up, I was always taught that trust is something you aren't just _given_. It's something you _earn_. And how am I supposed to trust my life to someone who can't even hold his own in a fight?"

Again, Olivia rested a hand on her friend's shoulder. "That's why we're doing this, Yuki- so he _can_ hold his own. So we can work better together. And, I'm glad to hear you say you trust me and Callie… but you have to trust _him_ too. Trust that we wants to improve, and that he'll listen to what we have to say so he can do it." Olivia circled around to Yuki's front. "I don't know if trust is something you have to earn, but Traviss _can't_ earn it if you won't even give him a chance to try."

For several long moments, Yuki looked at her friend in silence. Then, she glanced away, and replied, "I'll… _try_ to give him the benefit of the doubt."

Olivia smiled- for Yuki, that was an incredibly generous offer. "Thank you," she replied. "Now come on. Callie should've grabbed breakfast for us by now."

* * *

An insane laugh echoed through the practice arena. At the center stood a girl with indigo hair, laughing as the guitar in her hands spewed forth long strings of flame. Near the edges of the arena, Traviss weaved desperately to avoid the flaming jets. As he dodged another fiery burst, he shot at the indigo-haired girl. But she stood her ground, her aura dampening the blow from his bullets. "Come on!" she taunted. "Make this interesting for me!"

Only one class was on Team CYOT's schedule after breakfast- combat class. And much to the other members' shock, Traviss was already waiting in the practice arena, sitting in the seats surrounding encircling the room. Although in truth, they really shouldn't have been surprised; despite his absences elsewhere, Traviss had yet to miss even one class in the semester. However, he didn't sit in his usual place, next to Callie- he sat all the way in the back, away from the others, until his name was called and he was pitted against an indigo-haired girl named "Pleione."

Pleione fired another long arc of flame. Traviss ducked under it and closed in. But the indigo-haired girl turned the guitar around in her hand and swung the body at him. Traviss avoided the first swing… but not the second. The body of the indigo-haired girl's guitar struck him in the chest with a surprising amount of force, knocking him off his feet. But before he could rise, a nozzle with a flickering flame was jabbed in front his face.

"Sorry pal," the girl said. "Looks like game over for you."

But before she could go any further, Braun stepped into the arena. "That's enough, Ms. Pleione."

The indigo-haired girl looked to the professor. "Aw come on! I was having fun!"

The mustached man approached the two. "Ms. Pleione, despite your promise after your last match, you still have the tendency to cause significant amounts of collateral damage. On your own, it isn't as serious a problem- but elsewhere, you could wind up causing severe injuries to civilians or your own teammates…" Braun's eyes swept across the arena, to the numerous small fires still blazing. "…to say nothing of property damages." He turned his attention back to the girl. "Do try to rein yourself in."

"Ugh, fine." Slinging her guitar over her shoulder, the indigo-haired girl made her way back to her seat. "You really know how to suck the fun out of everything, Teach…"

Professor Braun looked to Traviss next. But before the professor could begin critiquing his performance, the climbed to his feet and said, "P-Professor Braun. I… I wanna try again."

The professor crossed his arms over his chest. "Your aura has been partially depleted, Mr. Rydinger. If you were to participate in another match, you would have an inherent disadvantage against your opponent."

Traviss didn't reply to the professor- he simply shot Braun a nasty glare. The older man raised an eyebrow in surprise… but relented. "…Very well." He looked to the stands. "Mr. Gainsboro, if you would join us?"

In response, a boy in the front row of the class vaulted over his desk and entered the arena. He was blonde with short, spiky hair, and bright blue eyes. But his weapon was of particular interest- a longsword that was nearly as long as he was tall.

Professor Braun began to step back to the edge of the arena. "Take your positions."

"Hey," the blonde boy said. "Name's Cloud. Hope Indie didn't rough you up too badly."

Traviss said nothing in reply.

"…not much of a talker, are you?"

Again, Traviss said nothing. But he did do something, something _unexpected._

He holstered both of his weapons.

"Begin."

The blonde boy charged. But to his surprise- and the surprise of everyone else in the room, for that matter- Traviss deftly leapt to the side. Cloud followed up with a wide horizontal swing, but Traviss dodged again with ease as he ducked under the blade. He tried to follow up with a swift kick, but the blonde boy leapt back and out of reach.

Traviss chased after him as the boy readied his sword. Cloud let out another horizontal swing, but Traviss slid under it, stopping himself just behind the blonde boy, and with a spin, knocked the blonde's legs out from under him as he rose to his feet.

The world slowed. Cloud seemed to hang in the air, mouth agape, eyes wide in surprise as his sword slipped from his grasp. But Traviss… his expression was calm, _serene_ , even. Traviss's expression didn't change, even as he raised up his arm. Even as he slammed his palm into the blonde boy's chest. Even as the blonde boy hit the ground _hard_ , a pained cry escaping from his throat.

The entire room went silent, save for Cloud's pained cries. Traviss stood completely still as the blonde writhed in pain at his feet, his gauge flashing. Their fight was over.

For several long moments, Traviss looked down at his opponent in silence, the impassive expression never leaving his face. Then, without a word, he strode out of the arena.

* * *

 _You just can't help anyone, can you?_

Far above a sea of lights, these words echoed within the mind of a beast.

He knew he needed to push such thoughts out of his head. But he simply couldn't escape the memory of that vicious black horde. Their screeches echoed in his ears, and even now, he felt their weight on his body. That moment, when he felt himself ready to collapse beneath the weight of countless bodies as they sank their teeth into his flesh… he could say, without a doubt, that moment was the closest he had ever come to death.

But why? Why did it still linger with him? The beast had felt the brush of death countless times- more times than someone his age should ever feel it. But the weight would fade with time- it always did. …but not this time, it seemed. Even though those black beasts were little different from the ones he faced night after night, thoughts of his mortality seemed to weigh unusually heavily upon him.

But the beast's musings were interrupted when movement below caught his attention. He dived, landing in the shadows of a nearby rooftop, before he crept to the edge and peered into the alleyway below.

Three men, trying the force the lock on a steel door. Only one gun between them.

It would've been almost insultingly easy, in any other situation. But after what happened… he knew in his soul that he wasn't at full strength. He needed to take things slowly. To move one step at a time.

The three were distracted, and with all the noise they were making, they'd never hear him coming. But then, few ever did. The beast leapt across the buildings, to the other side of the alley. Then, he edged along the roof, until he was right on top of the three.

The beast inhaled. And then struck.

He leapt down, atop the man with the gun, driving him face-first into the pavement. That was one.

The two remaining men stumbled back in fear… but one gathered his wits, and charged. The beast ducked down and hit the man in the legs as he spread his arms for a tackle- his own momentum working against him, he flipped over the beast, landing on his back. But before he could rise, the beast pulled back his fist and slammed it against the man's face, sending him into unconsciousness. That was two.

The beast turned to face the last man. But as he did, something burning hot tore through his side.

He miscalculated. The last thug must've had a gun hidden on him somewhere. He shouldn't have wasted his time with the takedown- he should've moved on to the next target. But it was useless to regret anything now. With a snarl, he began to stride toward the man.

The last thug fumbled with the gun- whether it was because he hadn't actually expected to hit his target, or because his shot seemed to have no effect was unclear. And after a moment, the reason became irrelevant- the beast closed the distance, before he seized the man's head and slammed it against the brick wall to the side. The man crumpled to the ground instantly- and that was three.

The beast let out a long exhale. But when he tried to inhale, pain flared through his side, and he spluttered and choked. He looked down at himself, to the source of his pain.

Blood ran down his side. Much more of it than he'd expected.

The beast tried to spread his wings, only to immediately withdraw his arm as pain flared through his abdomen again. It was… _worse_ than he thought. When he'd been hurt in the past, he could always fly away, find a safe place to recuperate, but now he couldn't even do that. And if he couldn't fly, he wouldn't be able to climb up a safe roost either. He'd have to stay exactly where he was.

The beast looked around. The thugs were still unconscious- they would be for another hour or so. And at first glance, they carried no obvious affiliations, meaning that no one would come looking for them… or, so he hoped. And aside from criminals, only the very brave or the foolish would be out at this hour.

The location was far from ideal, but it was as safe as things could possibly get in this city.

The beast closed his eyes, and focused.

He could feel his body shift, feel his true self slip beneath a mask.

And when the beast opened his eyes… he was a beast no longer.

Now, he was but a boy.

Almost at once, the boy felt a warmth in his side, and his pain began to fade. It always happened, when he shifted, but the boy now understood that this was his "Aura," working to mend the wound. But it would take time for his wound to heal fully… time that he did not have.

Doing his best to ignore the pain in his side, the boy leaned against the alley wall and sat behind a dumpster, out of sight. Steadying his breathing, he waited for his wound to heal. He wouldn't wait for long- he couldn't afford to, not when he was so exposed. He would allow his wound to heal just enough that he could fly home.

The boy had been in situations such as this before: points where he'd been injured so severely, he had no choice but to turn in before dawn, to give his wounds a chance to heal properly. But never had it happened so early into the night.

The boy looked up, to the empty, starless sky above. He wondered to himself, how many cries for his help would go unanswered tonight? How many innocents would turn their eyes skyward, expecting to see him there… only to find nothing at all?

Those questions hurt him much more than the bullet wound in his side.

He let out a breath, resting his head against the wall at his back, and he said aloud the words that had been echoing within his mind:

"You just can't help anyone, can you?"

* * *

Olivia was awoken by a rather unusual sound- the window creaking open.

Following it were a few scraping sounds, a light _thump_ , and a hiss of pain. " _Agh. Damn,_ " someone whispered.

She cracked her eyes open slightly, and immediately regretted it- standing next to her bed, in front of the window, was a dark shadow. She quickly shut her eyes, hoping the shadow hadn't noticed.

Apparently, it hadn't- after a moment, the window creaked again, there was the sound of surprisingly light footsteps, a brief shuffling from the far side of the room, a second series of light footsteps, and finally, the door opening and closing.

Olivia waited for a few moments, before sitting up and looking around. Cal and Yuki were still fast asleep- Traviss's bed was still empty. Then, she turned her attention to the window, where the shadow had been standing. Dark splotches trailed from the window to the door; despite the low light, their scent told Olivia exactly what they were.

Bloodstains.

Quietly, Olivia climbed out of bed and dressed herself. She had every intention of following after that… _thing_. If it fought her, she'd be unarmed- weapons were stored in the locker room near the practice arena, and there was no time to get hers- but she had her Semblance, and if the thing was already wounded, she'd have the advantage.

The brunette crept out into the hallway- outside, the trail of blood continued from the door down the hall. She followed it, turning a corner, until the drops stopped at… the boys' shower room?

 _Despite the name, the private bathrooms in Haven's dorm rooms didn't have a bathtub or shower- only a toilet and a sink. If a student wanted to wash off, they'd have to do so in one of the school's communal shower rooms._

Outside the door, Olivia weighed her options. Whatever this thing was, it couldn't be Grimm- even if it somehow got past the defenses for both the city _and_ the academy, it would've attacked them in their beds immediately. Plus, it seemed to know its way around, meaning it was a Haven student, former or current. Lastly, it seemed to have been searching for something in their room- so it knew one of them.

But even if she knew what the intruder was, what should she do about it? She could go back, wake her team. Or one of the professors. But she'd have to leave the thing on its own, giving it the chance to escape… or worse. And simply ignoring the intruder was absolutely out of the question… meaning Olivia's only option was to confront it. Alone. And if it tried to run, or fight… she could only hope someone would hear the commotion and come to help.

Olivia cracked the door open slightly, and peered in. The room within was dark, but she only needed to wait for a few moments for her eyes to adjust. The boys' shower room was nearly identical to the girls', just mirrored: a row of sinks stood behind a large mirror to the left of the door, while shower stalls stretched further into the room to the right.

And standing in front of the mirror was the shadow- it reached into a box sitting next to the sink, before moving its hands to its sides. Its hands moved as if it were… stitching a wound. It muttered to itself in a surprisingly light voice, seemingly unaware of the crack of light spilling into the room.

Olivia knew she'd only have one chance. She took a breath… before throwing open the door, and flicking on the lights.

She wished she hadn't.

Standing in front of the mirror was a dark brown… _thing_ that looked like a fusion between a man and a bat. It jolted, and snapped its attention to the door- for one brief instant, its face was set into a furious snarl… but it vanished the second the thing laid eyes on her. For several moments, it simply stood frozen, staring at her with its eyes wide… before it grabbed the box and threw it at her, rushing for the door.

Olivia batted the box away easily. She wasn't sure whether the beast would attack, or simply try to escape… but she wouldn't give it the chance to do either. "Oh no you don't!" Focusing, she punched the monster in the stomach, pushing it back with the help of her Semblance. But as it fell, it let out a surprisingly… _human_ cry of pain. Wheezing and coughing, it dragged itself away from her, leaving smears of blood in its wake on the tiled floor.

As the monster leaned its back against the far wall, Olivia slowly approached. This wasn't at all what she expected when she entered the room. But what happened next, when the monster looked up at her, and its brown eyes widened in surprise, she expected least of all:

" _…_ _Olivia?_ " it asked.

The monster's voice stopped Olivia dead in her tracks. As she looked at the wounded beast, be began to… recognize it: its voice, its _scent_ … but what she recognized most of all… were his eyes.

She took one step forward- the monster shrank away in response, holding his arms over his head as if trying to hide himself. And in a small voice, she asked in return, "… _Traviss?_ Is… is that you?"

He looked up at her when he heard his name, slowly, blinking several times as if what he was seeing was just an illusion. But when she didn't fade, he looked down, at himself, then back to his teammate. "I-I…" he stammered. "Th-This isn't… You weren't supposed to… n-n-no one was supposed-"

But Traviss silenced himself when Olivia held up a hand. "It's okay," she said, finally understanding. "I know what you are. I… _always_ knew. Because… you and me… we're the same." Olivia lifted up her goggles- underneath, two small, bone-white bumps sprouted from her forehead.

Traviss stared at the bumps in silence, the confusion clear to see on his face. "…they're antlers," Olivia explained. "Or rather, they're what antlers look like after you file them down." She knelt down in front of Traviss. "I'm a faunus. Just like you."

He looked at her, for a long while, before looking down at his own hands, curling them into fists. "…there's no one in the world like _me_."

As much as she wanted to say that wasn't true, Olivia had to admit that Traviss had a point. She'd never seen a faunus quite like him before- and not just because he was a bat, either. He was so… _bestial_ : his arms, his neck, his chest… seemingly his whole body was covered with a thick layer of dark brown fur; a pair of long, tapered ears sprouted from where normal, human ears _should_ have been; his face had elongated into a short snout; his bare feet were tipped with sharp claws; and his arms… had they _always_ been so long?

"What… happened to you?" Olivia herself wasn't sure if she was asking about Traviss's wound, or about Traviss in general.

"I… got shot. It's… just as bad as it looks. Bad enough that I had to turn in early." He let out a long breath. "Haven't had to do _that_ in a while. I was trying to patch myself up, when…"

Olivia moved towards him. "Let me see." Reluctantly, Traviss moved his hands, exposing a fresh bullet hole in his abdomen, on the left side. Around its edges were some black threads- stitches. Stitches she'd broken when he'd tried to run. "This is a pretty serious wound…" she began, "but your aura should already be healing it."

Traviss frowned, his ears drooping. "My aura… it doesn't work when I'm…" He hung his head. "…like _this_."

"It's okay. I can help. Just hold still." Olivia held her hand out towards his wound- Traviss shrank back slightly, but Olivia stopped her hand right above the wound, without touching it. Then, she began to concentrate- she felt her aura flow across her body to her hand, felt it meld with Traviss's own, felt their combined auras seep into the wound, encouraging blood to clot, cells to divide. She may not have been the most proficient Dust user, and her combat skills were only just above average, but when it came to aura manipulation, Olivia was second to none. More than once had professors told her she had great potential as a field medic. And for once, Olivia was actually thankful for her skill.

Several moments passed, as Olivia concentrated. Then, she looked up to her teammate. "Traviss… you're gonna have to tell Cal and Yuki about this."

He looked down at himself, before looking away. "…What am I even supposed to say to them?"

Olivia could only blink in response. "Have you… _met_ Callie? She's obsessed with you- er, with _the Bat_. And learning that she's on the same team as him… she might become the first person to ever die from happiness." She paused, trying to imagine her white-haired friend's reaction. "And, maybe learning who you really are will change Yuki's mind about you."

Traviss merely continued to look away, in silence.

"You know," she began, "I can help you. Come out to them, I mean. I've… had to do things like that before." She touched her antlers for emphasis. "But, you don't have to do it right away. You can tell them when you're ready." Her face set itself into a stern expression. "But you _will_ have to tell them eventually."

Traviss nodded. "I will." He then looked at her. "Just… promise me that… when the time comes, when I'm ready to tell them… you'll help me."

Olivia rested her free hand on Traviss's shoulder. "I promise." She then pulled both hands away. "Alright. I should be finished now."

Traviss looked down, touching his side. And indeed, his wound was gone, leaving behind only a faded scar. He sighed in relief. "Thank you," he said. "That probably would've gone faster if I'd changed back to normal."

At this, Olivia raised an eyebrow. " _Changed?_ "

"It… it would probably be easier for me to just show you." Traviss stood. "…You might want to take a step back."

Olivia did so, taking the chance to look at Traviss in his entirety. She was right about his arms being longer- they almost reached down to his ankles. He was also just a little taller than her now- normally they were roughly equal in height.

"Sorry," he quickly said. "I-It doesn't normally take this long." His eyes were closed, as if he were concentrating. "I… I've never done this when someone was watching."

He let out a long exhale. Then, there was a loud _snap_. She looked down to its source, gasping from the sight awaiting her- one of his arms was pointing in the wrong direction. There was another _snap_ , and his arm jerked, now pointing in a different- but still _wrong_ \- direction.

"It… It's okay…" he said, in a strained voice. "This is… normal."

There were dozens of snaps as Traviss's body… _forced itself_ back into its proper configuration. His snout retracted, his arms shrank until they were their proper length, and his fur simply withdrew back under his skin. And with one last pop, Traviss was himself once again. His ears were smaller, though still furry and rounded; his feet had returned to normal; and his arms, while shorter, still had a thin membrane connecting them to his sides, all the way down to his wrists.

Olivia was staring at him in silence, eyes wide and shimmering, her hands clamped over her mouth tightly. She looked as if she were about to scream. Or burst into tears. Or possibly both. "Olivia…" he began, stepping towards her. "I'm okay. Really."

"Doesn't it… _hurt?_ " she couldn't help but ask. _Was… that his Semblance?_ she asked herself. _But… transformation?_ A Semblance was unique to a person, and theoretically, there was no limit to the ability a Semblance could grant, but… that was…

He looked away for a moment. "Not as much as it used to."

Olivia wanted to ask what Traviss meant by that, but before she could, he asked a question of his own: "How did you… _know?_ That I was a… what did you say I was? A ' _faunus?_ '"

After what she'd seen, Olivia needed to take a few breaths before she was able to reply. "…It was little things, at first- things I saw during initiation. But I knew for sure once we were put on the same team. You did a good job of hiding it- you could fool any human. But you can't hide your scent."

Traviss raised an eyebrow. "Scent?" He sniffed his arm, confusion clear on his face. "…I smell?"

"That's not what I meant," Olivia replied, shaking her head. "Humans and faunus smell different from one another." She looked at him questioningly. "Didn't you ever notice?"

"Uh…" He scratched his head again. "I… there wasn't anyone around to teach me how to be a faunus when I was growing up." He turned away. "Actually, there wasn't a lot people around to teach me lots of stuff. Or… _any_ people, really."

Olivia wanted to ask what he meant by that… but the look on his face stopped her. "…Let's just get back to the room.

"Uh… actually, could you… bring a shirt back for me?" He crossed his arms over his chest nervously. "…I don't want anyone to see me like this."

Without any hesitation, Olivia unzipped her jacket, took it off, and handed it to the boy. "Here. Just give it back when we get to the room. It was… it was a gift."


End file.
